


Ginger Mulled Wine

by purplebass



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, F/M, M/M, Roleplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebass/pseuds/purplebass
Summary: One night, Kell and Rhy walk into a bar...
Relationships: Alucard Emery/Rhy Maresh, Delilah Bard & Kell Maresh, Delilah Bard/Kell Maresh
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Kell and Lila's Adventure





	Ginger Mulled Wine

Kell and Rhy walked into a bar late at night. Although Kell didn’t like the idea that much, he agreed, because his brother insisted. 

“What is one night out in the open, brother,” Rhy protested, completely ignoring the facts.

“You’re still a king, Rhy,” Kell reminded him. 

“So what? Aren’t kings allowed a bit of fun?”

“Just be careful,” he frowned. “Is this the bar? Knives out… really?” 

“Why, don’t you like the name?” Rhy raised an eyebrow as he walked with him to the counter. “Don’t tell that to the owner, I beg you.”

Kell shrugged. The owner would not like it at all, and he knew it. His eyes went on the people behind the counter. He instantly looked for that person, but she wasn’t in sight. Not yet. “Do you remember what I told you?” 

Rhy shrugged off his coat and nodded. “Yes. Yes. You told me several times, but I told you I have a good memory. I shouldn’t -”

“There you are,” a voice said. 

“No, there you are,” Rhy replied, and reached Alucard, who was reserving some bar stools next to the counter. “Hope you didn’t wait a lot. But my brother, right here, spent too much to get ready.” Rhy glared at Kell, but he simply shrugged. 

“And here I thought you were the vainest,” Alucard told Rhy, who snorted. “Do you want a drink?” he asked them once they all sat down.

“Did somebody say drink?”

Kell tried not to look too fast in the direction of the new voice. Her voice. But he couldn’t help it, and stared. She wore black leather pants and a black camisole. He realized that it was getting warmer in there, and he removed his coat. The gesture earned him her eyes on him.

“What can I get you?” she asked no one in particular.

“Whiskey on the rocks for me,” Alucard said first, followed by a mimosa order from Rhy. 

When her eyes landed on Kell, he still didn’t have an answer. “What about you?”

“I don’t know,” Kell said honestly, then had an idea. “Why don’t you choose one for me?”

She didn’t say anything. She smiled, and then she started mixing the drinks. She made Alucard and Rhy’s drinks first. She took her time with his drink. After a few minutes, she put a red concoction in front of him.

“What is this?” he wondered, observing the glass. It looked like the type of thing you would use to drink tea or cappuccino, not an alcoholic drink.

“It’s ginger mulled wine,” she replied softly, placing her forearms on the counter. “To complement your hair.”

He frowned, confused. Then he started drinking slowly. In the meantime, she watched him with an expectant look in her eyes. Kell thought the drink was too sweet but also sour because of the union between the wine and the ginger. He wasn’t liking it that much, but he pretended he did. 

“It’s delicious,” he commented after he drank half a cup. It wasn’t an outright lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. He didn’t know what to say. It was okay. He hoped that this would be enough for her.

“Let me taste it,” she said out of the blue, and grabbed the cup from Kell’s hand to try it. 

Their hands brushed when she did it. He licked his lips as he watched her taste her own drink, but she didn’t seem so pleased. “How can you say this is good? It’s bitter! Remind me not to try it again,” she said, and turned her back to him and threw the remnants of his drink into the sink.

Kell watched her with astonishment. What if he wanted to finish it? He didn’t know if that was a farce or not, but her face still seemed contorted after sipping the ginger wine. He decided to spice things up a bit, because he was sure she would love that.

“I have to be honest with you,” he started saying, and he got her attention again. “I didn’t like that drink either. And I think you are not even good at mixing drinks.”

If the comment was too harsh, she didn’t let it show. “Oh, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he agreed firmly.

She then turned to Rhy and Alucard, who were immersed in their conversation and hadn’t noticed this little rebuttal between them. “Messieurs,” she said. “Did you enjoy my drinks? Your friend, here, said he didn’t.”

“He’s not my friend,” Alucard replied, which earned him an elbow in the ribs by Rhy. “Anyway, yes. I enjoyed my drink, Bard.”

“I enjoyed mine too, thank you,” Rhy said.

“See? They enjoyed it,” she lamented.

But Kell had had enough of playing like this. He glanced at his watch. It was already late, and he had spent a day deprived of her. He decided to act.

“Oh my, I think I’m gonna need the restroom,” he said, putting a hand on his mouth, pretending to be about to heave out the contents of his stomach right there. 

If she was concerned, she didn’t show it. “This is the ginger getting revenge,” she said instead, as Kell rose from his seat and left.

He glanced at her one last time before leaving. It was an excuse, of course, one he was sure she had caught. He turned the corner before the narrow hallway that led to the toilets. It was dimly lit, the wall painted a dark blue giving it an even obscure feeling to it. As if that was the path to perdition instead of liberation, of freshening up before getting wasted at the counter. 

It didn’t take long until someone grabbed his hand and pushed him gently to the nearest wall. Two soft lips caught his in an intense and heated up kiss. Not the kind you give to an acquaintance, but the king you only reserve to someone you desire or cherish. His hand found the mass of her hair and they were a tangled mess of kisses. Unstoppable, fast, unyielding. On the lips, on the neck, even on her chest. They didn’t want to part nor wished to. But they were running out of air after a while, and she broke the kiss.

“What was that?” Kell wondered, breathless for a moment.

“A kiss,” she teased with a smirk, playing with his hair with her thin fingers.

His eyebrow rose in disbelief. “For saying that your bartending skills suck?”

“Do they really?”

“You know I was just joking,” he answered cautiously. She still wasn’t good at mixing drinks, but it wasn’t her job. “Besides, you’re the owner. No one will hold it against you.”

“Not even you, mister know-it-all?” she asked. 

He tilted his head and shrugged. "I'll give you a six," he finally said, eyes unblinking and confident. But she seemed disappointed. 

"Only six?" she chuckled, and touched the collar of his shirt. 

“Six is a good grade,” he argued with a grin, as he caressed her back with his hand. And no, he wasn’t trying to make her change her mind. Maybe. 

“Then I’ll also grade this kiss, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” he fretted and smirked, curious to know.

She frowned. “You seem so sure of yourself.”

“Shouldn’t I be?”

“No,” she replied, tugging his head towards her to whisper something in his ear. “Because you did poorly on your performance.” 

“That’s too bad,” he whispered back in her ear. “Because I was sure you liked it.”

She snorted. “You know that I’m a good pretender,” she said, her lips almost on his again. Almost touching, teasing. “I’ll be kind and give you the chance to try again.”

She looked up when she finished, and blinked once. He didn’t know if it was an unspoken sign to go on or not, but he didn’t care. His lips found hers again, and for a moment it was just them in the silent hallway. Far from the world, far from the bar. Until the spell was broken abruptly, but not by one of them.

“I knew I would find you here, Kell,” Rhy said from the corner. His coat lain on his left arm. On the other side, there was Alucard. “There is no one at the counter anymore.”

“What? Already?” she freed herself from Kell with a surprised expression.

“Time passes quickly when you have fun, Bard. It’s two am in the morning,” said Alucard. “I gather that you lost track of time after he arrived.” He tilted his head towards Kell, who stood there feeling like someone had rained on his parade.

“Well, then. This means I should go closing up,” she commented, and started moving until Alucard stopped her. 

“No. We’ve already done it when we didn’t see you come back anymore. Don’t worry, go home.”

“Yes, stay here with Kell,” Rhy said, directed at Lila. “Alucard will accompany me back to my abode, don’t worry,” he added, now towards Kell. “By the way, tonight’s performance? I’ll give you both a nine,” he finished. “I’ll never get why they pretend not to know each other and act…” they heard him say before he and his boyfriend rounded the corner and disappeared, leaving them alone.

“It’s called roleplay, Rhy…” 

Kell looked at Lila after they couldn’t hear their friends’ voices anymore. She wasn’t mad, but she rolled her eyes. She turned toward him, and her face lit up. “I guess it wasn’t that bad, don’t you think?”

“It depends on what you’re referring to,” Kell straightened, and took her hand. “The game or the kiss?”

“Game? Which game?” Lila winked at him and started walking. “I just know I’m tired after a long day in this place.”

“Then this means you’re going straight to bed when we get home, I gather.”

“I’m sure,” she gazed at him, and he was watching her. They had just picked up her things from the office and were going to be out in a matter of minutes. “But I never said I would sleep.”

There wasn’t any need to explain. He understood, and so did she. As they closed down the last door to Knives Out and reached his red car, the anticipation grew strong. But at least, the day was over, and they could finally enjoy the night in each other’s arms. 


End file.
